Hurling and camogie bodies urged to bring in neck guards to reduce life-threatening injuries

The Irish Medical Journal authors found: “The current protective equipment and nature of the game exposes the neck to high-impact trauma and significant injury.” Picture: INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan

Hurling and camogie organisations have been urged to start using neck guards for players to prevent potentially life-threatening injuries.

The neck guards would be used in addition to existing safety equipment, such as helmets, which have previously been successful in reducing eye-related injuries in the sport.

Doctors at University Hospital Waterford found 21 players with suspected laryngeal injuries had thyroid cartilage fractures among other injuries including shortness of breath, hoarseness, and pain when swallowing.

One patient needed a tracheostomy - a tube inserted into the neck to assist with breathing - after sustaining serious injuries.

Previous research has shown hurling accounts for 40% of sports injuries treated in Irish hospitals, and this latest study, published in the Irish Medical Journal, highlights another potential risk.

Among the 21 injuries, 18 were caused by a hurley, four by a sliotar and three happened through collisions with another player’s elbow or knee.

Since helmets were first introduced in 2005, there has been a significant drop in eye injuries the researchers state, and they called for a similar move now to protect the neck.

“The current protective equipment and nature of the game exposes the neck to high-impact trauma and significant injury,” the authors found. “Life-threatening laryngeal injuries may be prevented by the introduction of a neck guard that is already employed in other contact sports such as ice hockey.”

Previous research has shown hurling accounts for 40% of sports injuries treated in Irish hospitals. Picture: INPHO/Bryan Keane

They urged: “We hope this study will encourage the GAA community to consider the risk of laryngeal injury and introduce a neck guard to further safeguard the athletes.”

Led by Dr Sarah Louise Gillanders at the department of otolaryngology, the study warns of the potentially dangerous effects of some of these injuries. “Laryngeal injuries are uncommon but a potentially fatal condition, which poses a risk to the voice and airway of athletes who sustain blunt neck trauma,” the study found.

Fractures were found in three patients, and one of them needed a tracheostomy for an associated inter-arytenoid and supraglottic laceration. The team said while the sample size is limited, these implications need to be considered further.

Sliotars can travel at up to 160km/hr, they said, and in-air contests often lead to traumatic player-player collisions.

The study said:

It is therefore not surprising that, compared with other team sports, hurling has a very high injury rate of 102 hours per 1,000 hours of match play at the elite level, compared to 91, 12, 11 hours for rugby, lacrosse, and ice hockey respectively.

“It accounts for around 40% of all sports-related injuries seen in Irish hospitals.”

The doctors also warned symptoms of these injuries can be subtle, and they called for more awareness among the sports medicine community, GPs, and the emergency services.

“Hurling-related laryngeal trauma has the potential for serious and indeed life-threatening consequences due to the subtle and delayed nature of the symptoms,” the study warns.

They found even minor-seeming head or neck trauma can lead to more serious consequences.

“Whilst eye and head trauma in hurling has received particular emphasis, it is important to increase efforts to protect the larynx with the appropriate protective equipment,” the study concludes.